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BITTER BATTLE: Protesters at Hunter College take opposite sides yesterday over the controversial plan to build a mosque near Ground Zero Photo: Reuters

A city hearing yesterday on the historical significance of the downtown Manhattan site of a proposed mosque quickly turned into a raucous — and at times ugly — debate about whether an Islamic center should be located so close to Ground Zero.

About 150 people crowded into the Hunter College Auditorium in Manhattan for the Landmarks Preservation Commission hearing, held to see if the 152-year-old building at 45-47 Park Place in lower Manhattan had the cultural or architectural consequence worthy of being landmarked.

Those who opposed the construction of the 13-story mosque and community center, called the Cordoba House, accused their opponents of being unpatriotic and insensitive to the thousands who died on 9/11.

But attendees who want to see the $100 million project completed accused their challengers of being racist and encouraging conflict with Muslims.

One protester, shouting, “Down with this McCarthyistic witch hunt against Muslims,” was escorted out after interrupting speakers against the mosque.

Sally Regenhard, mother of an FDNY firefighter who died on 9/11, begged the commission to landmark the spot, which could end or complicate plans for the new mosque.

The Landmarks Commission didn’t issue a ruling yesterday. A vote is expected next month.

The local community board has already voted unanimously to approve the construction of the mosque.

The size and use of the project is allowed under local zoning. If approved, the project’s sponsors say they’d like to begin construction of the 13-story building within the year.

Sharif al-Gamal, a member of the mosque and a partner in the real-estate firm that paid $4.85 million for the building last year, insisted that the building “does not meet the standards of an individual landmark.”

To support that claim, al-Gamal was accompanied by architectural consultant Nathan Riddle, who told the commission there was nothing architecturally unique about the building.

Mosque opponents are hoping that if the Landmark Commission marks the spot as a historical site, the center two blocks north of Ground Zero won’t be built. tom.topousis@nypost.com